About the Program: Joseph (Jay) Ranney will present “Touched by Fire: the Civil War's Impact on Wisconsin Law.” America is beginning the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. It is sometimes said that “law is silent in war,” and Mr. Ranney will discuss whether that was true in Wisconsin during 1861-1865. He will focus on the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s efforts to balance civil liberties against the need to support the war effort, an issue that is also relevant to the post-9/11 era and the war on terrorism. He will also introduce some of the judges, lawmakers and generals who contributed to the evolution of American law during the war.

About the Presenter: Jay Ranney is an attorney with the Madison, Wisconsin office of DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C., where he specializes in commercial and intellectual property litigation. He is also an adjunct professor at Marquette Law School. Mr. Ranney received his B.A. degree from the University of Chicago and a J.D. degree from Yale Law School. He is the author of three books, /Trusting Nothing to Providence: A History of Wisconsin’s Legal System/ (1999), /In the Wake of Slavery: Civil War, Civil Rights and the Reconstruction of Southern Law/ (2006) and/Deposition Objections /(2010).